Incinerator protester vows to keep fighting
Sunday 2nd August 2009, 11:45AM BST.
PROTESTERS will fight on against the States decision to build a waste incinerator, according to a supporter of delaying the whole project.
Rodney Brouard, who was in favour of Deputy Dave Jones’ sursis motion, said there was still time to persuade members about alternative waste solutions.
In the last two weeks he has been in discussions with the UK company Reclaim Resources about its waste-to-energy plant.
He claimed it could have cost £15m. to run a steam system, which would have been the island’s best option.
Prior to this, he advocated shipping the island’s waste to Jersey’s incinerator.
Deputies voted on Thursday to give the go-ahead for a £93.5m. facility at Longue Hougue by a 32-12 majority, with three abstentions.
‘I’m extremely disappointed but, as a true Guern, I never give up,’ said Mr Brouard.
‘I’m still looking at other options. I’m determined that it won’t be built – decisions are there to be overturned.’
He believed many deputies ‘sat on the fence’ when they voted to support Public Services’ proposal.
‘One possibility is bringing a requete, which would require the support of only seven deputies,’ he said.
Mr Brouard said if he could get conclusive proof that an alternative solution could work, then it could save Guernsey more than £200m.
‘No one I’ve spoken to wants it built and deputies think there is no other way.
‘I think it is so short-sighted.’
Mr Brouard said protest groups against the plant had presented too many alternative solutions and not a big enough petition.
One with 3,000 signatures was handed to Deputy Dave Jones on Monday and others to States members during the week.
Mr Brouard had collected one with 750 signatures.
‘The problem was we needed to be united with one solution that we could drive through.’
- To read Guernsey Press stories in full click here for subscription details. Individual editions are now available online.
Campaigns
Voice For Victims
Voice for Victims is a campaign aimed at promoting the rights of those affected by child sexual abuse.
This is Guernsey
Guernsey Press
I am in complete agreement with Rodney Brouard and know of many others who also know many others who will do everything possible to stop this filthy, expensive incinerator being built.
Deputy Tony Spruce says in today’s paper about the benefit to the people of the Vale no longer having the landfill site on their doorstep.
What about the people of St Sampsons, whose house prices will certainly fall? and what about the people of Guernsey who will have to breathe in toxic fumes every day? and put up with an acrid smell of burning rubbish every day? and whose children’s children’s children will still be paying for this terrible misguided waste ‘solution’, both with ill health and taxes?
Report abuse
Katie, just so I’m clear, the people of St Sampsons will be the ones who have already chosen to live next door to a great big fossil-fuel burning power station?
Report abuse
Student Bob
If you are a student you haven’t learnt much have you?
To say they chose to live next door to a fossil burning power staion.
What utter nonsense. in many cases they were there long before these power plants came into being, Have you forgotten or didn’t know of the AMBALLES,.
But irrespetive of did or didn’t doesn’t mean that more has to placed at their door mat.
Why not at the FORT Field?
Report abuse
As engineers in the field of waste minimisation we believe mass burn incineration is totally wrong for island communities where annual waste arisings total less than an 300 thousand tons. The reason for this is that you must have a constant flow of highly combustible solid waste to maintain an absolute critical, minimum 24/7 furnace temperature of not less than a constant 850 degrees centigrade. If not – high percentages of acid gases form along with dioxins, furan and other nasty, contaminated health damaging emissions that are hard to control even by highly complex gas scrubbers and particulate arrester gear
Equally, low temperature operation results in larger quantities of highly contaminated combustion fly-ash and gas scrubber wash down slops. Both of which have to be disposed of as hazardous waste – along with contaminated bottom ash that weighs approximately 28% of the crude input waste. Disposal of these residues ( as is being experienced by Jersey from the now highly corroded Bellozanne massburn incinerator ) is a major problem.
The proposed incinerator will have less than 40,000 tons of selected mixed waste a year to burn.
This is far,far less than critical for round-the-clock constant high temperature combustion in accordance with world-wide accepted safety parameters.
The alternative !?
A truly modern plant that dispenses with householder/commercial pre-sort and does the job automatically within a very robust engineered materials recovery facility. The plant makes 18Mj/kg , high density carbon neutral fuel from the paper, card, woodwaste, greenwaste and dried biowaste for combustion in a combined, heat and power boiler. The result is clean,Climate Change compiant carbon neutral emissions to atmosphere via far less complex engineering than that needed to control incinerator emissions and residues.
Please note – only 8% of clean,bottom ash by weight is produced from biomass fuel combustion.
All other waste – glass,plastics,metals,textiles is recovered and compacted for export.Kitchen and farm/horticultural waste is aerobically treated for return to nature or made into dried fuel for the bio-boiler.
This is today’s answer by well tried and tested turnkey engineering backed by the world’s best waste to energy and resource recovery specialist engineers. Such a plant to minimise Guernsey’s waste arisings will cost £30 million less to build than the £93.5Million for a Suez Environment Co of France massburn incinerator.
How STRANGE !!!! this is exactly the same sum of money Jersey is paying for a CNIM of France incinerator – Plus euro/£ currency adjustment. Plus enabling costs that in all now total a staggering £102,810,000. !!!
Unfortunately those in charge at government level have committed both islands to an horrendous waste of taxpayer money. And as far as I can see.have absolutely no intention of revoking the commitment – or listen to common sense in the interest of the Public Purse.
What a pity both administrations committed the selection of the “right” engineering to off-island out of touch with reality,”spare no expense” consultants; who are now I’m pretty sure laughing all the way to the bank with their ill-gotten booty.
Report abuse
I think it has been along time coming and about time Guernsey needs to get with the times, and yes I live in St Sampsons with the floating poo and smells that need sorting out also, but hey this is Guernsey and that is another issue. And I dont think either are up to scratch. I can not wait for the incinerator to be built, got my vote.
Report abuse
Some thought provoking quotes in this article:
‘…. decisions are there to be overturned.’ [RB]
He [RB] believed many deputies ‘sat on the fence’ when they voted to support Public Services’ proposal.
really !!!!!??
Report abuse
Student Bob,
Yes, no argument there, but people of Guernsey generally choose to live where they can afford to, however I love the north end of the island, despite the power station and the landfill site.
It seems that the north is the prefferred choice for installing the ‘necessary’ evils of modern life, it’s just the obvious dumping ground especially for people making the decisions who most likely don’t live there.
Thank you for highlighting the power station. Everytime it is in use, all of the houses in the surrounding area get coated in a fine layer of black dust, which obviously isn’t pleasant, but people need power and that fossil-fuel burning power station has been in place a long time and cannot be undone easily.
We can still prevent this expensive mass-incinerator which will make the pollution problems of Guernsey much worse, not least because no one will recycle, , and it’s ridiculously expensive, especially considering there are cheaper, more environmentally safe options!
Report abuse
Traci, I agree we do need to get with the times, but the mass-incinerator is out-of-date backward technology, so I cannot understand why it would get your vote!
Report abuse
Katie
I noticed that too, odd that Traci should claim to want to get with the times but admits to being in favour of outdated technology.
Particularly as this article is about RB’s quest to get the island “with the times” with the steam based system.
Anthony, thanks for taking the time to explain your potential solution, is this the same solution that RB is advocating??
Report abuse
Mary
Yes decisions are made to be overturned, until the contract with Suez is signed then Guernsey still has a chance to avoid this mistake.
I cannot speak for RB, but I think the sitting on the fence comment may have been referring to the fact that in the face of little detail on viable alternatives at the time of the debate and the fact that a solution IS needed ASAP, some deputies may have voted in favour without fully beleiving it was that right thing to do.
Report abuse
Hi Katie, like you very disappointed that we are not going to have a mix of more advanced technologies (perhaps combined with micro burner) to deal with our waste.
I just can’t see the States overturning that decision, however, so unfortunately we must all work together to ensure the plant receives the absolute minimum amount of waste to keep it running efficiently.
Like many others, I am worried that perfectly recyclable waste will simply be chucked in to keep it going.
Maybe we need a WISE, independent body to ensure this doesn’t happen – WISE for Waste Incinerator Scrutiny Executive!
Report abuse
Is it a bit like the “45 minutes til WMD are deployed against UK territories” justification for the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Iraq?
Sounds good, drop the bomb.
Burny of Mass Disappointment: The Enquiry.
Page 1
FFS
End
Report abuse
Article picture: Is Rodney stroking a fish?
Report abuse
This rediculous decision as to be some how over turned.
The way the current States is going I wonder what is in place to see the entire lot over turned by the public and have a new election. Flush out the chaff, there is a lot of it.
I just don’t get it, the States is there to serve the people and the Island. They aren’t listening though to the public.
Report abuse
sad news for Guernsey. CRAZY that Jersey and Guernsey are BOTH building new mass burners….The States haven’t got a clue about sustainability and protecting our beautiful isle. We have missed a great opportunity of doing the right thing..RIP x x x x
Report abuse